The wooden floors in the Bird Cage Theatre creek eerily with every step. It’s almost as if the original floors, built in 1881, squeak untold stories from the 26 people who died through the years.

Wine glasses still sit on tables, untouched since the day it closed in 1889. Cards, poker chips and wooden chairs where legends like Doc Holliday once sat continue collecting dust in the daytime, but they come alive when the lights turn out.

Ghosts, spirits or entities of lost souls have played a significant role in Tombstone’s tourism industry. However, it was only recently that the paranormal contributed a new kind of attraction.
In early June, the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” made a special visit to the Bird Cage Theatre to monitor ghost activity, which has been reported to occur multiple times. With a successful viewer turnout, some of Tombstone’s residents believe the television series sent more people to a site of the original Wild West to experience the mystical action in person.

Nova Fleury, an employee of the theatre, has not only heard stories from guests and other locals about paranormal contact inside the theatre, but has also experienced it herself.

“We’ve seen and felt the presence of several entities here in the theatre,” Fleury said, “but we’re not aware of the names of the ghosts that are inside.”

She believes television shows like “Ghost Adventures” had a lot to do with the latest influx of tourism saying, the “paranormal phenomenon has really opened up the doors to a new genre of tourists.”

While many people walk down Allen Street daily to capture the essence of one of the last standing old-west towns, many are also visiting several locations such as the infamous O.K. Corral and Boothill Graveyard to participate in tours during the day and ghost tours at night.

Burt Webster, an employee at the O.K. Corral and resident for almost nine years, said the tourist attraction has certainly shifted from visiting the original old west to investigating a growing ghost town.

“Television makes anything popular,” Webster said. “It’s looking to give people exactly what they want. Right now, it seems like it’s the ghost adventures that people want in on.”

Only 23 miles east of Tombstone, Bisbee also offers an array of ghost tours that trail back to the once dirt-laden streets. According to Fleury, a good portion of the tourists who travel to Bisbee make their way to Tombstone as a continuation of their quest to discover paranormal antiquities.

“I’d say in comparison to the amount of tourists who come to visit for the history of Tombstone and those who come to visit for ghosts are at a strong 50-50,” Fleury said. “At the same time, we’re expecting to see an even higher rate of ghost-seeking tourists in the coming year.”

Aside from the Travel Channel’s recent episode, the Discovery Channel has also taken part in the ghostly environment of the Bird Cage Theatre. Producers and crew of the Discovery Channel’s upcoming show “Ghost Lab” also monitored and filmed paranormal action in the theatre, but the episode has yet to air. Due to privacy agreements, neither the employees of the theatre or the television network would disclose specific information.

While there is great hype that the originality of the old west is steadily converting to a haunted attraction, tourists and residents are still gung-ho that the town’s true old west spirit will never be taken over.

Bob Campbell, an employee at Tombstone Ghosts and Legends, remains a full believer that people come to see the true history the town has to offer and its not ghosts.

“I’ve definitely heard stories about ghosts,” he said. “But I’ve never experienced it myself. This place is all about the history. I doubt it has anything to do with ghosts.”

Andy and Michi Pechhacker, natives of Austria, said they’re visiting solely to experience the old west first-hand.

“It’s a famous city, and we wanted to see and hear the real story about the O.K. Corrall,” Andy Pechhacker said, but they didn’t mention whether or not ghost tours were on their agenda.

A family visiting from Temecula, Calif. had a case of split interests. While Ying La and four other adults accompanying her were more interested in the wild wild-west, her children and nieces were more interested in the ghost scene.

Cathy La, a teenager who was visiting with her aunt, said what captured her attention was the story she heard from a friend who had visited a while ago.

“She told me she saw a ghost here one time,” La said. “But I don’t know where exactly. I just know I want to see if it’s true.”

Whether or not the stories of the spirits that roam Allen Street are true, one thing is certain: the significant change in attraction. Although television has become a major contributor to paranormal tourism for The Town Too Tough To Die, it’s seems that there is a distinct difference between interests in generations. While the elder continue to enjoy the preservation of Tombstone’s historical features, Fleury said the younger generation has been behind a recent boost in revenue and tourism for the town.

“I don’t really know much about the ghost stuff, and don’t really care for it,” Ying La said. “But these kids here, they like it. I don’t know why.”